Morning! Just finished 4 recovery miles. I had a super busy day yesterday between driving to Broward and back, going to the expo in between, depositions, work, ugh. I was glad the day was over. No wonder my run last night sucked.

Beth, enjoy your swimming class.

swift, enjoy your 18.

Not sure if Patti is running today because I thought she was injured. I have to check with her in FB and make her come back, haha!

I'm up! But waiting until we're above freezing to head out for my 22 miler. It's about 27 degrees right now so I might be waiting until noon. I'm planning to do today's run as a dress rehearsal. So, I'm going to try to create a course that mimics the terrain of the race, work on my shot block timing, and most importantly... my playlist! I had a great one for NYCM but there were a few tunes that were NY specific (No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn, Empire State of Mind) that I need to replace. Otherwise, I got a great night's sleep so I'm feeling good. I have some lingering tightness in my right calf that I'm attributing to 6+ hours of treadmill running over the past 3 days.

Hope you all have good runs today. I'll check back in later. D_R, Good luck tomorrow!

Tough times never last, but tough people do. – Dr. Robert Schuller

So_Im_a_Runner

Go figure

posted: 1/26/2013 at 10:21 AM

Hi ladies! (and gents to follow) I just got in from doing 8.05 with my running group friends. There was quite a bit more snow to run through, so that made it a little tricky, although the pace was still an easy one. It was one of those runs where my body feels better after running than it did when I started, so that's a plus. Also, it felt like it flew by as it feels like it's been a while since I did a run that was just around an hour.

18 mile fartlek run on tap for tomorrow to finish off my third solid week in a row.

Beth...Have you done the pool running before? I bet it's pretty tough. I hope the swim went well too. Did you try any more consecutive 100s? Stay warm!

Swift...Looks like a good weekend for a long run for most of us! I hope your knee cooperated.

Docket...Good lord, I totally forgot you're running another marathon tomorrow! Wow, you're impressive. Do you have any expectations for this one? You should tell Patti to get her butt back over here.

Julia...I say the more dress rehearsals you can get in, the better. Since I have a flatter course for my coming marathon I haven't given it too much though, but the year I was running Akron I always tried to hit a tough hill late in my long runs to mimic the course. Where do you keep the shot blocks when you run? I like them better than gels, but just find the gels easier to pin to the waistband of my shorts. You're a music while you race gal huh? I won't pass any judgment, although I will say that I don't because I feel like I would be isolated from the race atmosphere if I had music on. Glad you got some good sleep! As for the calf...I was just reading an interesting thing on pain solutions that you wouldn't expect. It actually recommended doing heel dips to alleviate calf soreness. I've had a little in my lower calf too so I'm thinking of trying it.

Beth...Have you done the pool running before? I bet it's pretty tough. I hope the swim went well too. Did you try any more consecutive 100s? Stay warm!

Word^^^^ I'll be back later because right now I need a nap!!

SIAR, I did a 2X100's today at the end of swim after the drills. It was slow because I was tired

but it still felt nice and relaxed and becoming much more natural.

And it was my first time water running. I underestimated how hard it is!!

1,500 meters total in the pool......3 sets of 500 drills with two minutes between the sets and

30 seconds between 50 meters in the set of 500

Then 15 minutes in the hot tub

Then 1 hour of watering running with drills (intervals etc) and she worked us hard

2 hrs 45 minutes of workout in the pool in total.

It's way more tiring than 2:45 of running!!

Back later Saturdailies!

Julia1971

posted: 1/26/2013 at 11:10 AM

SIAR, I think dress rehearsals really help with mental trainning. It gets me thinking about how I'm going to break up the race and what I'm going to focus on or tell myself at key points. With RnR USA, there are some tough parts of the course, but not like Boston where you really have to train for the hills in Newton. The hard part with this race is that I'll have to focus during the first half so I don't let the halfers suck me into a faster pace and then stay motivated once I see almost everyone peel off at the half knowing I'm half way done... I do my training runs with music almost always but I'm selective about racing with music. Definitely not if the rules say no music. I also don't if the field is small and I might be competing for an award less someone think it's unfair. And, increasingly, I don't for anything under 10K because I think my race pace/cadence is faster than the beat of most of my music so it throws me off. But, for longer races, I prefer having music. And, it's okay to judge. You can't write anything I haven't read before about running with music. ... Up until now, I've been storing gels in my bra straps. LOL! I think it was a hold over from field hockey - that's where most gals hook their mouth guard. But, I'm going to try a SpiBelt this time around. I figure it's classier.

We're up to 29 degrees. I think I'll be ready to head out in another hour or so...

Tough times never last, but tough people do. – Dr. Robert Schuller

So_Im_a_Runner

Go figure

posted: 1/26/2013 at 11:24 AM

Beth...I hope you do get that nap! I'm thinking that might be on my schedule today too. Nice job on the 2x100...that's really good progress. I need to make more of an effort to drills when I get back in the water. I just don't like them because I'm terrible at them.

Julia...I'm always surprised during a marathon how many people peel away at the half. It's like you've been "racing" with all these folks, and then they're just gone. You sound like you race a little more consciously than me. I've never really broken the race up, or had things I wanted to think about. Mostly I've just tried to zone out. This race I'm going to be a lot more aware of my pacing though, and will probably look at the watch at least 3-4 times per mile, as opposed to just when the miles beep like I've done in the past. I won't look at how far I am as far as miles though, just the pace.

As for the music stuff, I know people can get pretty adamant about it. I don't really feel that strongly, but I do have my own strategies. I only "let" myself have music on easy runs, and then I do most of my quality work and all of my long runs without. Since I don't race with it, I figure that's a fair way to acclimate myself to not having it while still getting to enjoy some tunes to break of the monotony of daily runs.

You ladies store everything in your bras haha. I would think a spibelt would bounce too much, but maybe not. You'll have to report back and let me know.

Docket: Hope you have a great race tomorrow! Yes, tell Patti hello, and hopefully she can pop in at least!

Julia: Hope you had a nice 22.

SIAR: Nice run in the snow with your group.

Scott: Great job with your 22 in the snow.

jack (from yesterday, in case you pop in): Very sorry to hear about the injury, maybe look into a second opinion? Maybe from a doc who is a runner? I hope you're able to find something that works for you.

So I did 2 on the way to meet the group, then 18 with the group. The route for the 18 was pretty hilly, we had 2277 ft. of elevation gain (and corresponding loss, though it felt more uphill than down!), so that was considerably more hilly than the marathon course, which has a total climb of only 1534 ft. Legs felt a little tired, but the run went pretty well, and the miles seemed to go by pretty fast.

Couldn't face single digit temps, so back to what amounts to speedwork for me on the TM. 10 done at 6:56 pace.

Scott--great work on the 22. That is a nice place to run.

Damaris--Good luck tomorrow. How many times have you run this race?

nts--good job on today's run!

Beth--the workout sounds tough. Is that in St. John?

SIAR--better you getting the snow than us. Looking forward to Tuesday when we might get above freezing

Julia--hope you got the 22 in

Still waiting to go see Lincoln. Maybe tonight

Julia1971

posted: 1/26/2013 at 4:59 PM

Back from my 22 miler. (Actually, it was 21.9 ). It turned out to be a fast one - 8:31 pace. It's faster than I probably should be running but I went with it. I think the dress rehearsal aspect, the playlist, and wanting to get out of the cold spurred me on. I think the treadmill running may have helped, too. I felt like my legs were turning over quicker... The weather wasn't that bad. I don't know why I'm being such a wimp! My hands were cold at the end but after two hours in that's to be expected. I brought hand warmers but didn't use them... The Spibelt wasn't that annoying. It rode up a little but I didn't mind it. And, it didn't bounce around really either.. Relaxing with the Strassburg sock for the next hour or so then I'm heading downtown for happy hour. I'm not sure I'm up for taking mass transit since my legs are dead and it's so cold. But, not liking the idea of hunting for parking, either. (Sigh).

Marco, Hope the treadmill wasn't too miserable. Do you have music, magazines or maybe the t.v. to make it more bearable?

Scott, Congrats on the 22. Do you think those last 2 miles made it any harder? I bet the C&O Canal was beautiful with the light blanket of snow.

Swift, Sounds like you had a great run! Hope you get to put your feet up for a while after all that climbing.

SIAR, I only get this detailed about marathons. Most other races, I just show up. For marathons, I really try to adjust my pacing to the course. For example, I'm not a strong hill runner, so I have to adjust everywhere else. And, I also like to nail dow the fueling. Unlike every other runner I know, I tend to fade in the middle miles - Miles 13 and 14 are typically some of my slowest. I have a feeling it's a fueling thing so I've been trying different things to see if I can figure it out.